System for storing bulky materials.



A. H. WOOD. SYSTEM FOR STORING BULKY MATERIALS APPLICATION FILED JULY 2,191].

Patented Apr-. 15, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I- m mm 1 m A 104i, M LQWJ /7 770/ NEYS A. H. WOOD. SYSTEM FOR sromm; BULKY MATERIALS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 2| 1317- I 1,300,800, Patented Apr. 15,1919.

2 SHEETS-"SHEET 2.

:for removing A U TED STATES ra'raur curios;

ALEXANDER H. WOOD, 0F KILIDAV, KENTUCKY, ASSIGLN'OR TO WOOD EQUIP ENT COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

SYSTEM FOR STORING BULKY MATERIALS.

Application filed July 2, 1917. Serial No. 178,248. d

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALEXANDER H. WOOD, a citizen of the United States, residin at Kildav, in the county of Harlan and tate of Kentucky, have invented new and useful Improvements in Systems for Storing Bulky Materials, of which the following is a specificationu,

This invention relates to. improvements in systems for handling bulky material such as coal, ore, crushedrock, sand, gravel, etc., and more especially to an improved sysspace in such manner that it may be readily accessible for removal Whenever desired, and the material whenever any of it is needed. I

The invention is designed particularly to provide a practical and economical method of storing coal so that it may be removed from coalcars, boats or other agencies of transportation, and stored in a pile on-the ground, with means for simply and economically ta king up the coal from storage and delivering itback into bins, cars, boats or the like whenever any of it is required.

The invention briefly I described contemplates a powershovel orjcrane, commonly called a locomotive "crane, operating on a semi-circular track and piokingupthe coal or other material from the coal. cars, boat -or hopper into which it hasbeen dumped at a point in the center of the semi-circle .the crane then swinging around and depositing its load into the hopper of a revolving, portable conveyer which operates on a concentric semi-circular track some distance beyond'the' first track; the conveyer in turn carrying the coal out to the farthest extent of its reach and depositing it over the entire area which may be covered by it, including the space beyond the outer track and between the two tracks and even the space occupied by the tracks themselves; the two machines burying their tracks as they move along, as will be hereinafter described. When all of the area which is available through the operation of the-conveyer has been filled the locomotive crane working on the inner track will proceed to fill up the remaining space, whereupon the maximum storage capacity is reached. For removing the material from storage the locomotive crane first digs out the inner track and the seml-circular space within it, then the conveyer is transferred to' its track, and the locomotive crane placed on the outer track to pick up the coal beyond the outer semicircle and deliver it to the conveyer, whence it is carried inward and discharged into cars or other carriers, orjinto a hopper.

A complete system embodying the principles of the invention is illustrated diagrammatically in the accompanying drawings in which 2 I Figure 1 is a plan viewjshowing the complete system. L

Fig; 2 is a vertical sectionfon the line 2-2ofFig.1'. I I

Y'Fig. 3'is a view in endelevation show- Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Apr, 15,1919,

ing my improved revoluble and portable conveyer whichconstitutes one of the parts of the system;

As shown in said drawings,-the' system illustrated isdesigned more particularly for the storage of coal'and similar material and accordingly there are provided a pair of railroad tracks, 10, 10, which are here'shown mrelyfdiagrammaticallyand be a part of the'regular railroad system 'by means of shell or other suitable bucket, 19, at its end,

the machinery being housed in a structure, 20, whichis mounted on circular row of wheels, 21 on the carplatforin so that the boom can revolve in a horizontal circle. The entire piece of apparatus herein designated as a locomotive crane is well known in the art and in' lieu of the particular device herein illustrated and described, there may be substituted a similar piece of apparatus made in any approved manner, as the particular design or construction of the locomotive crane does not constitute any part of the present invention.

Beyond the semi-circular track 15 there is arranged a parallel piece of track, 30,

on which is shown a piece of apparatus herein designated as a revoluble, portable conveyer. The latter comprises a car or truck, 35, arranged to provide a horizontal platform, 36 over which is mounted, on a circular row of wheels, 37, a revoluble structure 38, hooslng the driving machinery and parts of the operating mechanism. EX- tending from one side of the structure 38 is along boom, 45, which is hinged on a h0rizontal pivot, 46, at its inner end so that its outer end may be raised and lowered through-a ohainor cable, 4:9. The boom 45 supports a-n -endless .link belt or :conveyer, '50.. ,Attheoppositeside of the structureSS from'the boom 4:5 is a receiving hopper, 55, through avhich material may be delivered upon :a horizontal section of conveyer, 57,

- whence it is carried to the' foot of the contoxraiseand lower the ltboom, and to revolve flee-apparatus {on its vertical pivot, are well understood, the:actual details of construction of this apparatus are not herein shown, and

the illustration is merely diagrammatic, but

it is-ibelievedqtobe-suflicient to enable any one skilled in the art to which it appertains to construct a machine which will perform the functions herein described.

In addition there is provided at the adjacent. ends of the two semi-circular pieces or track l5 and :30, a transfertable, 60, on a connecting piece of track, 62, whereby the two machines 16 and 38 may be transferred from onetrack to the other,and a-section of track, 65,, :extendingl' beyond the 'end' of one of the :semi-circles, tonrece'iveone of-the machines and thus "permit them to pass "each other.

:The operation of'th'e'complete-system is as follows:

-I he coalx-or =other'.mateI-ial having been brought to ifihe 'storage grounds along the adjacent-tracklO and dumped into the pit 11,

the crane 16' is operated on the inner semicircular track to pickup the coal out of the pityswing it around and discharge it into the hopper of the conveyor 38, which latter operates on theouter :se-ml-cireular track and carries-the rcoal out to the farthest extent 'reachedvbyits boom. In this operation the conveyor :boom'is first lowered'so as not to drop athefcoal any farther than necessary, as it is desirable -toavoid breaking the coal as kmuchas possible; and in this manner the entire available space'beyond the outer track, the semi-cireularstrip between the two tracks, and'ithe area occupied by the trackBO itself may be filled up; the two machines starting at the ends of the two .tracks farthest from the two transfer tables and working around toward the latter. As the two machines proceed thus the locomotive crane canalso bury its own track behind it, and can even fill the semi-circular space included within its track. When th storage space is all filled up the two machines may remain on the transfer table or the connecting track, 62 until required for removing the coal from storage; and this operation is accomplished by first operatingathe locomotive'oranerlo on the inner'trac'k ;15 ':t0 clear :the .;latter,:lthe space within tit, and 4&8 much space between the twosemi=circularitracks as can: be

reached by the boom l 8; and then the two machines are switchediaboutiandsthelocomo tive crane :16 "placed on Iithe outeratrack 30 and operated to pick up the coalf-rom the remaining storage space [and drop it into-the hopper of the conveyer 3 38, WlllGhTililttBI' sis the storing of the coaloriits sremovalfrom storage the operation is practically continuous, the only shifting about of "the mechanism required being the swinging around tion of the two machines together in either f of the boom ofthe loeomotiv'ecrane to carry f the material picked up by itaround man are and deposit it intothe' hopper of the conveyer, which latter can operate uninterruptedly to carry the material :on ffarther-and discharge itover its-end. 'Theon'ly fiddle tional operation required is the occasional moving of'the' machines, and there is thus rendered available for storage a much greater area than could practieallybe reached by :the boom of any single piec e' ofapparatus, and with a greatsaving n time over any system or process which requires picking up the material iby a machine and depositing it on the ground and then' moving the machine about and picking-the materialup iby the same machine again. "Equajlly wasteful and uneconomical "is any system which re quires'a machine to pick up material,-=thenrto propel itself with its load to another point to discharge the material and then to go back empty for anotherload. 7

All of the foregoing objections are removed inthe system above described, and without departing from r the spirit of the invention the system might' be' modified in" many respects, such as supplying the coa l or other'material to the dumping pitll by boat, or othercarrier, instead of by cars; or 'by providing a secondset of semi-circular tracks on the other side of the railroad tracks10,

10, thus making the storage *grou-nds substantially a circle instead ofa send-circle; and the fea'turesof design of thetwo pieces of apparatus 16 and 38 might be considerably changed without materially modifying their functions, as above set forth.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a system for storing material, the combination with a locomotive crane operating on a track and adapted to pick up material deposited on one side of the track, of a parallel-track on the opposite side from the material and a portable conveyor operating on the second track and adapted to receive material from the locomotive craneand deposit it'beyond the second track, the conveyer having aboom adapted to revolve in a horizontal plane, whereby material may be stored beyond and between the tracks and upon the track beds, and may be removed scribed my name this 20th day of June, 1917 ALEXANDER H. WOOD.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for iive centl each, by addressing the Commissioner of ratents, Washington, D. 0." 

